Residents were treated to an upscale party in May to celebrate the renovation of WestHaven at Vinings apartment homes located off Cumberland Boulevard near Paces Ferry Road.

Guests gathered at the new Leasing Office/Clubhouse for an opportunity to meet their neighbors and corporate officials representing the Worthing Companies, which owns and manages the complex. WestHaven at Vinings offers town and garden homes with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops; faux-wood plank flooring; luxury carpets and track lighting. Other amenities include 4 resort-style swimming pools; 4 tennis courts; an athletic club with cardio/weight center and a Wi-Fi Cafe. For more information, visit WestHavenVinings.com or call (770) 436-4400.

KBA awards scholarships

The Kennesaw Business Association handed out annual scholarships to more than 15 deserving seniors from local west Cobb high schools at their monthly luncheon at the Kennesaw State University Continuing Education Center in June.

The 2013 KBA President, Mike Everhart, was there to kick off the crowded event stating, "This is my favorite meeting all year. We get to give back to students that work hard all year and reward them with a scholarship."

The 18 scholarships are mostly named for past presidents of the KBA and range from the Future Business Leader Award to the Athletic Scholarship to the Servant Leadership Award. In total, the KBA was proud to hand out more than $5,000 to the award winners.

GPAs higher than 4.0 were common and all winners had to have some type of community service involved to be eligible for an award, as community service and education are two of the main focuses in the KBA. Three students had racked up more than 1,000 hours of community service in their time in a Cobb high school. Winners were chosen from Allatoona, Kennesaw Mountain, North Cobb Christian and North Cobb High schools.

The Kennesaw Business Association is composed of more than 250 businesses and meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 11:30 at the KSU ConEd building.

Information: www.kennesaw

business.org.

Bankers association

CEO to retire

Vinings Bank CEO Dan Oliver, board chairman of the Community Bankers Association of Georgia, announced the retirement of its president and CEO, Carolyn Brown, effective Aug. 31. Brown, who was with the association for 25 years, became CEO in 2009. Robert M. Braswell, former commissioner of the Georgia Department of Banking & Finance, has been named her replacement. Brown led the CBA to expand educational offerings, networking opportunities, endorse new products and services for member banks and worked diligently to ensure Georgia's community banks and associate members received accurate information in a timely fashion, Oliver said.

"We are grateful for the strong leadership Carolyn has provided and thank her for her willingness to facilitate a smooth transition. She leaves with utmost respect and sincere appreciation from both bankers and financial services providers from across the country," Oliver said.

?

New Zaxby's

construction begins

Construction is under way in east Cobb on a new Zaxby's, the "quick casual" chain specializing in chicken fingers, wings and salads. The eatery going up on Sandy Plains Road will mark the sixth Zaxby's in Cobb with a Marietta address. Franchisee Dustin Mullis and partners Greg Shumate, Alex Koutouzis and Gregg Litchfield plan to open the restaurant in August at 2756 Sandy Plains Road, near Sprayberry High School, according to a news release. The new restaurant will employ 40 to 50 people.

The new location will be the 14th for Cobb County and the 208th in Georgia for the chain.

?

KSU, Parkmobile win

annual software awards

Two Cobb County entities, Kennesaw State University and Parkmobile Inc., won awards for software innovation at the annual Impact Awards put on by the Technology Association of Georgia. Southeastern Software Association, one of the founding members of the Technology Association of Georgia, announced recently that two local entities were among its winners of the 2013 TAG SSA Impact Awards. TAG SSA Impact Award winners have developed exciting software solutions with a meaningful impact on their business, their customers or their community. This year's winners were selected in five categories and from among 32 finalists. KSU won the award for its Corporate Internal Software Development program. Parkmobile is a technology solutions provider.

Peterson Foods to Purchase Otter's Chicken

Peterson Foods LLC, owner of Otter's Chicken in Marietta's The Avenue - West Cobb, announced today that it has purchased the Otter's Chicken Tenders Restaurant Concept from the restaurant's founding group and parent company. The asset purchase agreement also terminates the existing franchise agreement between Peterson Foods and Otter's Franchising LLC. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Otter's Chicken was originally founded in Nashville, Tenn., as a fast-casual restaurant specializing in freshly prepared (not frozen) chicken tenders served in a variety of methods. Otter's offers chicken tender meals, chicken wraps, chicken sandwiches, salads and a variety of other menu options and portion sizes, including "tailgate meals" for large parties. Its menu offerings are served in a fun and casual environment with a strong focus on local schools, their sports programs, bands and other ancillary organizations.

*We welcome your comments on the stories and issues of the day and seek to provide a forum for the community to voice opinions. All comments are subject to moderator approval before being made visible on the website but are not edited. The use of profanity, obscene and vulgar language, hate speech, and racial slurs is strictly prohibited. Advertisements, promotions, and spam will also be rejected. Please read our terms of service for full guides